first - the apology. i am sorry about my serious absence on my blog. the quality of the photos i have been trying to take for the website have been very disappointing. they all have this funky 1970's sepia tone quality because of the lack of light in my house. this has definitely put a damper on my blogging. but this will all be remedied soon...
because we are moving a month. to a real house with a killer kitchen. i can't wait. this place was owned by a chef and he re-did the whole kitchen. gas stove. marble counters. and windows! with actual light which is amazing for pictures. i'm so excited. better light = better pics for my blog...
so in preparation for the big move - i have been trying to clean out my freezer. i have a couple of canning projects dwindling in there. a big quart sized container filed with apple/pear juice from the fall that didn't become jelly. and a huge bag of strawberries that never became jam...
on top of that, i have about 15 stalks of rhubarb just languishing in my fridge from the csa through my job. that rhubarb has been sitting and staring at me for over a week. i started to feel a little guilty. so i broke out the canning pot...
i used liquid pectin for this jam. i had some floating around from last year so i decided to give it a try. this is my first time making jam with liquid pectin. it works very well. my jam is really jelled. almost a little to much for me. but i didn't follow any recipe exactly. i modified the one on the pectin box - so that's what ya get. the original recipe was right off the recipe packet in the pectin box...
strawberry rhubarb jam
3 cups crushed strawberries (about 1 1/2 quarts)
1 1/2 cups diced rhubarb
6 1/2 cups sugar
a couple of tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
start the boiling water/sterilizing process first. you want to at least have the jars in before you start the jam. keep your water boiling..
the original recipe called for 4 total cups of fruit (2 1/4 cups of strawberries and 1 3/4 cups of rhubarb). i had more strawberries then that so i tweaked it. hull and crush your strawberries 1 layer at a time. i ended with a little more then 3 cups of crushed strawberries and at least a cup of strawberry juice..
then i diced up about 5 smallish stalks of rhubarb. this should give you about a cup and a half. throw fruit into a heavy bottom pot and add the sugar. turn the heat on medium and let the jam come to a boil stirring frequently...
i let the jam cook for about 15 minutes to thicken it (because i added the extra juice). then i added the liquid pectin and continued to stir until the jam came to a boil again. let the jam boil for a full minute and then turn off the heat..
fill up you sterilized jars a 1/4 inch from the top of the rims. wipe the rim with damp cloth. place lids and rings on jar and twist until finger tight (not too tight). slowly lower the jars one by one into the boiling water.
let the jars boil for at least 7 minutes. remove the jar from the pot and set on a dish towel to cool. you should hear the lids pop as the jars cool.
tada! you have canned for the first time and are a hard core pioneer woman. go enjoy that jam.
